POLITICS AS UNUSUAL
A PERFECT CIRCLE'S MAYNARD JAMES KEENAN gets EMOTIVE about the war on terror, the future of the music business, and the sorry state of American Democracy.
By Andy Langer
Maynard James Keenan sips his coffee while talking politics at a cafe in what was once a thriving mining town in Arizona. He's pissed- he hates George W. Bush and he's not sure that John Kerry is the answer. "Have you seen Alien vs. Predator?" he asks. "'No matter who wins, we lose'? There you go."
Politics have always been close to Keenan's geart. In a previous interview with Revolver, the frontman of both Tool and A Perfect Circle railed against post-9/11 oppression and the citizenry's state of political apathy- or, as he calls it, the "sleeping-people phenomena." So it's no surprise that A Perfect Circle's new eMOTIVe (Virgin) is essentially intended to be a giant alarm clock for these somnambulistic citizens. The straight-up, take-no-prisoners protest record features mostly covers; the band - Keenan, guitarists James Iha and Billy Howerdel, bassist Jeordie White, and drummer Josh Freese- drastically reworks tunes like Fear's "Let's Have A War" and Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On." Unapologetically heavy, surprisingly beautiful, and downright scary, eMOTIVe is exactly the piece of unrelenting art you'd expect from Keenan in a time of crisis.
But Keenan's political concerns extend far beyond the current presidential race. Today's conservative climate, as well as his own frustrations with the music industry in general, have him contemplating retirement- to produce records, or perhaps start his own wine company at his Arizona vineyard- even as he works on the next Tool album. It's just one of the revelations he makes in another exclusive and thought-provoking glimpse into one of rock's most mysterious minds.
eMOTIVe is obviously the most poitical record of your career.
Yeah. my voice and freedom of speech are on the line. In truth, I've een involved forever. I just tried to do it subtly. Like most liberals, I speak my mind and live and let live. I can't dop that anymore. It's time to fight. If I'd been ranting about this stuff for years, you wouldn't be listening right now.
You're not alone in speaking out these days. This is obviously a time when musicians are politicizing.
I think that's great. I'm a pessimist though. I don't think we're going to get out of this thing. It's going to be another four years. And in this scenario, you hate being the guy that says, "I told you so." Ten years down the road, we're going to know that this is the worst president we ever had- the worst track record ever, up and down. Here we are, being told to fear fundamentalist extremists. And we should. But, by the way, our country is being run by a guy who's a fundamentalist extremist. He believes in a Heaven and a Hell and a guy up there judging what we do.
Did you sense any reluctance from your label about releasing a record this political?
That's the funny thing- we didn't. The people at Virgin Records thanked us for doing the record for them. But it's like, "I didn't do this for you! I did this for all of us." I'm trying my best to spread information so people can decide for themselves. This whole last tour with A Perfect Circle, I took a lot of ear for saying from the stage that you should use your vote. Your vote does count. We've been tricked into thinking it doesn't. If you don't use your vote, someone else will speak for you. This is a dictatorship. They've eliminated the flow of information. The censorship issues are rampant. My art is on the line here.
But traditionally, art thrives in repressive conditions. The Reagan/Bush years gave us hip-hop and alternative rock. Is our political agitation creating that kind of inspiration right now?
I don't think so. A lot of the forums have been choked out. They've figured out a way to limit the flow of information.
But with the internet, we have more information than ever before.
Maybe, but there are people working their asses off to make sure that when you do a search on something, wrong information pops up. This administrations understands how the inernet works.
Is the War on Terrorism a diversion from the real issues?
Absolutely. It's Orwellian stuff. The search-and-seizure laws? The Patriot Act? It's fucking obscene. These people prey on your weakness. They know that people who have a rational view of the world also have a compassionate view of the world. They know we have a live-and-let-live attitude. And they prey on that viciously. They also know if they point and say, "Witch! Witch! Witch!" and have enough people yelling, there's nothing you can say to suggest you're not a witch.
I'm not so sure there are a lot of young Republicans in your audience, though. Are you preaching to the converted?
In some ways, yes. But there are a lot of kids online claiming they're going to burn their APC and Tool CDs because I'm against this administration. Okay, I guess you missed the point then. These are not fans. They don't understand our ideals.
eMOTIVe features an interesting version of Elvis Costello's "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding." Won't some people be surprised to hear Maynard James Keenan singing what we think of as a peacenik anthem?
I already sang it last year on Lollapalooza with Chris Cornell. If you've followed our progress and seen what we're about, it shouldn't be odd. If you've listened to Tool's Lateralus start to finish, you'll see it- it's already there. And [APC's] Thirteenth Step is all about compassion. If you can't find compassion in our music, you're not looking. In fact, you're in denial.
Musically, how challenging was it to cover these songs?
Very. If we're going to make a statement, just covering the songs verbatim doesn't work. I can't do that. I have to put some kind of signature on it that makes people feel we digested it and spit it back out in a way that takes it to another level. We want to show the artists behind the songs that we mean business, and that we understand what they said and tried to take it further for them.
John Lennon's "Imagine" may be the most recognizable song on the album. Was it hard to find a new way to present it?
"Imagine" actually came together pretty quickly. That song was so beautiful and uplifting, coming from Lennon. And now a couple of decades later, things have gotten worse, not better. I tried to imagine if he'd been singing that song for the last 20 yaers, and how much sadder he'd be singing it. I thought we had to do that version, the version of how he'd feel in his heart now.
Is there a fear that what you do politically in A Perfect Circle trickles down to Tool?
It already has. They're taking heat for me already. But at the end of the day, you have to follow your heart and speak the truth. It's what artists do. If we were concerned about what other people thought about our art and reactions to the world around us, we wouldn't be Tool. Sometimes you have to flash a middle finger and worry about the consequences later.
But it would have been easier not to make this record.
Sure. I could have come home, worked the vineyard, and said, "Fuck all y'all!" I give up. I'm taking shots from all sides. Part of me says I'm ready to go make wine. This is my last-ditch effort. Then I'll just give up.
Last-ditch effort? But, Bush or no Bush, you're not any less successful now than you were four years ago.
As far as being happy with what I'm doing and the results of our efforts, I'm very happy with how we started and finished our projects. But commercially, we're less successful. Our numbers our dipping across the board.
But from the outside looking in, you have a very viable career.
That could end any day. We've seen it a million times. Here today, gone tomorrow. This is a temporary business. We've been lucky. I remember opening for Primus, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden. We outlasted all of them, but it doesn't mean the band that opened for us last year won't be the band I have to beg for an opening slot tomorrow.
But you know people are excited about a new Tool album.
You might be. And I am. But we're in the minority.
You were in the military. What lessons about human nature and politics did you learn there?
That when your sergeant tells you something it's because the first sergeant told him. He was told by the master sergeant, and the master sergeant was told by the command sergeant major- all of whom are enlisted men who do what they're told and don't question the facts when they come down. I don't care if you've been there 40 years- if you're an enlisted man, you have nothing to say except what you're told. And if you're an officer, until you're a colonel, you still have nothing to say.
You're writing for a new Tool record. Are you finding world politics seeping into that process too?
Absolutely. We're in a critical space, and so it's in my songwriting. It's from traveling around. You know when you have a friend that has a new child and a year later you see him and the kid's tripled in size? It's the same thing going through a city, only the cities are shrinking. The Wal-Mart and Home Depots get bigger, but the city part shrinks. Where was that cool little record store? Closed. The family-owned restaurant? Closed.
You're a pessimist though. The glass is always half empty.
Yeah. But not enough of one that you can dismiss me out of hand. I'm a pessimist with a sense of responsibility. If I'd never joined the military, the weight of my words wouldn't be so heavy. That I was accepted to West Point should say something. My military career was an experiment. I didn't know what I wanted to be as an artist, so I went for the extreme opposite. I wanted to see what that life was like. And I excelled. I was a distinguished graduate from my basic-training and advanced-training class. I was selected for a prep school for West Point, and then declined West Point for a career in art.
And now you feel responsible to speak out because you have a pulpit in your pair of popular bands?
I feel responsible because what's going on affects my daily life. If I had no pulpit, I'd still be on the corner, trying to explain why they should support someone else. It just happens that I have more tools at my disposal than the guy standing on the corner.
But let's say the record comes out and Bush wins. Then what? Seriously.
Then these songs become more relevant. We will continue to murder people in other countries and in this song, so songs about war, peace, love, and greed become more relevant. This corporation is going to continue to pursue their oil, textile, and business interests, and do whatever they have to. If they can have this track record of unemployment and unhappiness and get elected again, they're going to step it up that much more.
So we call go to Canada.
No. I love this country. I think it'd a great place with amazing opportunities that aren't available in other countries. But I think there's other crazy stuff that's escalated to the proportions we used to criticize other countries for. Am I anti-American? No. I'm actually pro-American, and I want to get back to that- the land of the free and the home of the brave. We have a fascist dictatorship. And I'm staying here and fighting it. This is my country.
Very very good interview.
